Women in Banking

Slideshow

Summer Suits: Legal Woes Rise with Temperatures

A steady stream of subpoenas, crackdowns and settlements involving big banks indicates that regulators are continuing to work through a big backlog of cases related to the housing downturn and financial crisis. Other investigations involve brand new issues, like payday lending and debt collection. One certainty: For banks litigation risk keeps on rising.

It all Began With...The summer scandals kicked off on June 18 when Benjamin Lawsky, head of New York's Department of Financial Services, fined Deloitte Financial Advisory Services $10 million in connection with its anti-money-laundering advisory work for Standard Chartered in 2004 and 2005. Third-party oversight is now a huge issue for banks. Lawsky also hit Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ with a $250 million settlement over money-laundering allegations.

PNC Faces DOJ-CFPB ProbeAug. 9 - The Justice Department and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed civil suits against the Pittsburgh bank, claiming its National City mortgage unit charged higher interest rates on home loans "to a protected class of borrowers." Separately, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York is investigating PNC's foreclosure expense claims on loans backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration.

JPMorgan Probes Pile UpAug. 8 - The regulatory crackdown on JPMorgan Chase (JPM) reached a fever pitch with new civil and criminal investigations into allegations of wrongdoing in the sale of $850 million in securities backed by residential loans. JPMorgan is already operating under four enforcement orders, more than any other U.S. bank. Two each are related to the 2012 "London Whale" trading fiasco and alleged anti-money-laundering lapses.

JPMorgan ReduxBut wait, there's more. JPMorgan is also facing newly disclosed probes into its delinquent debt collection practices. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and CFPB are pursuing administrative orders related to the bank's collection practices and sales of credit card debt. The investigations also involve alleged lax oversight of third parties in the sale of identity-theft products.

Payday Lender ScrutinyAug. 7 - Third party oversight rears its head again. New York's top financial regulator is cracking down on payday lenders that allegedly are trying to skirt state caps on interest rates. NY Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky is back, this time pressuring banks to adopt policies and procedures to stop payday lenders from taking payments directly from consumers' bank accounts.

DOJ Charges Bank of AmericaAug. 6 - The Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil lawsuits against Bank of America (BAC) alleging investors were misled about the quality of residential loans backing $850 million in mortgage securities. The case involves prime jumbo mortgages securitized by B of A (not its much-maligned Countrywide unit.) B of A says it will fight the charges, claiming that ecause sophisticated investors had ample access to underlying data.

UBS Settles with SECAug. 6 - UBS agreed to pay $50 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that it misled investors in a complex mortgage security. That may not seem like much but last month UBS reached an $885 million settlement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency to resolve claims related to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities.

A steady stream of subpoenas, crackdowns and settlements involving big banks indicates that regulators are continuing to work through a big backlog of cases related to the housing downturn and financial crisis. Other investigations involve brand new issues, like payday lending and debt collection. One certainty: For banks litigation risk keeps on rising.

Expect banks to pull back on energy lending in the near term, as regulators step up their scrutiny of oil loans and bankers approach the business with a "different attitude," says Mariner Kemper, chairman and chief executive at UMB Financial in Kansas City, Mo.

The post-election rise in stock prices has been a boon for investors, but it is also causing notable changes for financial institutions. Here are a number of ways that the rally can help  and hurt  the banking industry.

It's the time of year to give thanks, and for bankers some things to be grateful for include rising stock prices, a brightening M&A outlook and, most notably, the potential for regulatory relief under President-elect Donald Trump. Here is a list of developments the industry might be celebrating this Thanksgiving holiday.

Bankers are anxiously waiting to see who President-elect Donald Trump will pick as the next Treasury secretary. Several prominent names have been floated for the job, though with every passing day, a new possible choice seems to pop up. Following is a look at the current crop of candidates and their chances.

Mobile phones are only going to become a bigger part of how banks interact with their customers, so several institutions are looking to enhance that experience. They are focusing on better ways of opening accounts, verifying identities, interacting with customers and offering new services and features. Here are some of the improvements announced this year.

This year federal and state regulators have started to pay closer attention to the rapidly evolving online-lending sector  particularly online small-business lending. What follows is a look at eight key players in the debate over how to regulate this emerging industry.